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Chatsubo


The Chatsubo, or simply The Chat, is the bar made famous by William Gibson in his 1984 cyber-punk masterpiece NEUROMANCER. The Chat is where the cyberjocks, razorgirls and joeboys came to gather information and kick back. Please feel free to do the same here.

by JoAnn Roberts - CyberQueen

"In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but its effects."
-- J. William Fulbright

So, I'm going to try a "kinder, gentler" approach to my column this month. I'll start with fashion news first... Winter officially comes a-calling this month and the cold weather will bring out the fur, and mostly faux fur, we hope. You'll find fur trimmings on everything from hand-warming muffs, to gloves, sweaters, and sexy bedroom slippers. Ho, ho, ho!

The hot buzz in jewelry is no visible means of support. Yep, the latest rage is a small, white gold or silver charm floating in the hollow of your throat without a visible chain. The trick is to use extremely fine "nylon microcord" (a.k.a. monofilament fishing line). It's practically invisible against your skin. Want a cheaper version... attach the jewelry with eyelash glue. Zut alors. Zo zimple!

Ya hafta wonder what these publicists get paid for. I've seen basically the same article in about four December issues of fashion magazines... Jennifer Lopez's butt. Yep! All four pieces mentioned what a great backside Ms. Lopez has. Wonderful! I'm sure Ms. Lopez wants to be known as "nicest ass in town." (Hey, I held that title myself in 1970.)

Another festive look for this holiday season is sparkly jewels on your eyelids with frosty or shimmery white eyeshadows. Personally, I like the white up under the eyebrow line as it makes the browbone more prominent. The fashion mavens suggest the white shadow go on the entire lid with the tiny jewels glued to the lash line. M.A.C makes the jewels, but here's my special tip. Go to a hobby shop that sells model trains and ask for MDC/Roundhouse marker light jewels. You'll get a whole bag full for a helluva lot less than you'll pay at the cosmetic counter. Use that eyelash glue to hold 'em in place.

I've always said there's no substitute for great tools and that goes for makeup brushes. I'm nuts for brushes. I have 4 or 5 sets. It's necessary to keep brushes clean to avoid contamination with bacteria and mixing colors. You'd be amazed at how much makeup stays on a brush. I once did a demonstration of a complete makeup routine without ever touching a brush to a cosmetic. So, here's the proper way to clean those expensive brushes. First, wipe bristles clean with a soft tissue. Next, run the bristles under lukewarm water. Press bristles into a quarter-sized dot of mild cleanser (baby shampoo is perfect). Work the bristles into a lather but don't bend them. Rinse in clear water. Reshape bristles and let dry. Hang over the edge of a table so the water will not run back into the ferrule and loosen the glue that holds the bristles in place.

I've put two books about fashion on my holiday gift list. The first is titled, Chanel, Her Style and Her Life, by Janet Wallach/Doubleday. It's a visual biography of one of the most celebrated, daring, and emancipated women of our times. The other book is, Barbie Millicent Roberts, published by Pantheon Books. (You didn't know Barbie was part of my family tree, did you?) This book is a photographic tour-de-force of the famous doll dressed to the nines.

Getting anxious for that great holiday party and notice there's a huge pimple growing in the middle of your face. Now what? You can zap that zit with a shot of cortisone at the doctor's office (about $30), or you can try Visine eyedrops that get the red out by shrinking blood vessels.

Big women of the world, rejoice! Your (and our) day has come, finally. When Camryn Manheim won an Emmy for her role as Eleanor Frutt on the television show The Practice, she said she wanted to share the award with big girls everywhere. Ms. Manheim is not only a plus-size woman, but she also has her ears pierced several times which leads one to wonder if she sports piercings anywhere else. Ms. Manheim thumbed her nose at fashion tradition, too. While her Emanuel dress cost $700, her sandals came from Payless Shoes and her earrings from Target. Regardless, it is gratifying to see a woman of size being honored in the media for her abilities.

The end result of women like Camryn receiving public kudos is that great fashions for plus-sized women are becoming easier and easier to find. Why, even Fredericks of Hollywood offers many of their clothing and lingerie in larger sizes. (I got my Halloween costume from Fredericks this year.) But there is this curious "hole" in their sizing chart. Fredericks uses mostly S-M-L-XL-1X-2X-3X sizing. Look at their ordering page where the size charts are and you will see that XL is size 12 and that 1X starts at size 16. So, what happened to size 14?

Fashion Trends that fizzled in 1998... Anything labeled Face Lift In A Jar... Menhdi tattoos of henna (too trendy)... Botox injections, paralysing your wrinkle muscles with toxins -- yeah, that sound smart... Scented nail polish, did you just peel an orange?

Lara CroftMacAddict magazine, in conjunction with Eidos and Aspyr Media are holding a Lara Croft look-alike contest. The mythical Ms. Croft is the star of the mega-hit game Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider II is being released for the Mac and the contest is PR to hype the game's release. But here's the really cool part (and I quote): "That's right--people of either gender can put on their best Lara dress and win cool prizes. The grand prize for best imposter is a Tomb Raider leather jacket valued at $360... Have fun with this--we're not looking for Barbie (or Ken in Barbie clothes) lookalikes." But you don't have much time since the contest closes December 15th. Send a photo of your best Lara impersonation to I Want To Look Like Lara To Win Cool Stuff, c/o MacAddict, 150 North Hill Dr., Suite 40, Brisbane, CA 94005. Good Luck! (For another, sexier, look at Lara Croft, go to Garage Kits.)

Okay, no more Ms. Nice Girl! Here's the commentary on the news front... The IFGE-Virginia Prince Award flap that I mentioned last month resulted in a 3 page letter from IFGE Award's chairperson, Winnie Brant. Ms. Brant took my remarks as a personal attack on her integrity. That was never my intention, and my apologies go to Ms. Brant for any pain caused by my comments. For as long as I've been acquainted with Ms. Brant, I've never had cause to question either her integrity or her sincerity. My bitch is the same one I have with most of the way IFGE does business. The rules for the nomination/election process seem to be made up by the committee as they go along. For example, the 1999 IFGE Selection Academy Ballot for the VP and Trinity Awards lists two couples for awards -- Linda & Cynthia Phillips and Jane Ellen & Mary Frances Fairfax. Isn't that interesting!

On Monday, November 2, 1998, the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GPAC) officially lapsed two years to the day after being formed. The terms of service for all GPAC officers and appointees expired according to the By Laws signed two years earlier. GPAC was formed originally to lobby for transgender civil rights. Since then, the board has not reconvened face to face, although a second board meeting was planned but never executed. GPAC never incorporated as a legal organization, nor did it register as a lobbying organization with any of the states in which it operated. A memo was sent recently to all of the signatories of the original GPAC By Laws. None of the original signing organizations expressed an interest in reviving the coalition, although one or two individuals are trying. As a community coalition GenderPAC may be defunct, but Ms. Riki Ann Wilchins, Executive Director of GPAC, will, I am certain, continue her political activities. Regardless of any "advances" it may claim on the tg-rights front, GPAC was a disastrous failure for the community as a whole. GPAC was a "grand experiment" that could have brought unity to the disparate segments of the transgender community. Instead, several people in GPAC opted to play politician rather than peacemaker. My dictionary defines "politician" as: "One who, in seeking or conducting public office, is more concerned to win favor or retain power than to maintain principles." So, if questioned why transgendered people are not yet protected by civil rights laws answer, "Politics."

Unless you've been living in the Outback, you know that the Republicans were handed their hats in the last election and Newt is on his way out. One of the big losers in the election was New York Senator, Al D'Amato. (This guy made me ashamed that we share the same ethnic heritage.) Interestingly, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), backed the incumbent D'Amato against challenger Chuck Schumer and not without some controversy of their own. Board member Marylouise Oates resigned over HRC's endorsement of D'Amato. Ms. Oates felt that D'Amato supported Senator Trent Lott's anti-gay agenda and consequently, "... I simply cannot be a part of any enterprise that seeks to re-elect an anti-choice Senator with a long record of hostility and indifference to women's issues and to the fundamental issues of civil rights for African-Americans and other minorities." See what happens when politics takes precedence over principles.

In a rare move, New Jersey state Attorney General Peter Verniero has petitioned the U. S. Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty for Leslie Ann Nelson. Nelson, a 40-year old transsexual, was sentenced to death in May 1997 for killing a Haddon Heights police officer during a 1995 siege at Nelson's home. Nelson had pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder and a single count of aggravated assault for the April 1995 shootings. Verniero wants the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule the state Supreme Court, which reversed Nelson's death penalty on grounds that evidence was improperly held during the trial. So, I'm wondering, where have all the activists gone? Where's the Transexual Menace contingent to picket the court? Nelson isn't exactly the kind of poster-child the activists are looking for. They'll picket for you if you're murdered but not if you're the murderer.

Transgender activists from just about ever major city in Texas will attend the first Texas Transgender Lobby Day sponsored by the Texas Gender Advocacy and Information Network (TGAIN). The event is scheduled for January 27, 1999. "We have a huge stake in the Texas version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act," said Sarah DePalma, Executive Director of TGAIN. The Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby (LGRL) of Texas already had the language for the bill and volunteered to include transgendered people. The Texas Gender Advocacy and Information Network was originally started in 1985 as It's Time, Texas! and operated as the Texas Chapter of It's Time, America!, a transgender rights organization. Although planning to remain affiliated with ITA, the name was changed to TGAIN in 1998 to makes its mission more clearly understood. Anyone interested in attending the lobby day should contact DePalma by email or by phone at 713-778-1416.

So, those are my opinions, but, hey, what do I know? Some people take dissent as a personal affront. I'm just the loyal opposition. Happy Holidays and have a safe New Year celebration. See you in 1999. Comments? Email them to JoAnn@tgforum.com.

© 1998 by JoAnn Roberts

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